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Editorials from around the country

Posted:
02/11/2013 01:00:00 AM MST

DNA's crime-fighting role

This week it was announced that DNA testing of bones found buried beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England, had established that they belonged to King Richard III, who was killed in battle in 1485. Researchers were able to match DNA recovered from the skeleton with that of a living descendant of the much-vilified monarch's sister.

Indeed, DNA technology has been instrumental in resolving more-contemporary mysteries. According to the Innocence Project, DNA evidence has resulted in the exoneration of more than 300 Americans convicted of crimes, including 18 who had served time on death row. On the opposite side of the ledger, DNA evidence has been used to convict the guilty. It's the latter use of DNA information that figures in a case to be argued before the Supreme Court this month.

Supported by virtually every other state, the Obama administration and local officials, the state of Maryland is seeking court approval for taking DNA samples from individuals arrested for serious crimes and checking that information against a database that includes evidence from unsolved crimes. The court should decline the request and affirm a ruling that taking DNA samples from persons who haven't been convicted violates the 4th Amendment's ban on illegal searches and seizures.

Los Angeles Times

Save the postal service

The U.S. Postal Service, an independent agency that receives no taxpayer money for operation, is a 200-year-old institution still tethered to Congress by centuries-old shackles.

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Partly because of that impediment, and changing communication habits in a technologically advanced society, the Postal Service has been losing billions of dollars the past few years -- $15.9 billion in the last fiscal year alone. This has happened even though it reduced staff, combined operations and cut hours in some underused post offices.

After months of imploring Congress to approve cost-cutting measures, including closing thousands of postal stations, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced Wednesday that the USPS will stop Saturday letter delivery.

While many in Congress understand this, they've found it difficult to consider changes to an institution that their constituents often see as not just a vital service but also a local landmark or an important community center.

But if the agency is to remain any of those things, Congress must let it be a viable business.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

U.S. v. S&P

The major credit-rating agencies are supposed to be private-sector watchdogs of the financial world. They bark when cities, states and countries go too deep into debt. They howl when Greece conceals its true indebtedness, for instance, or when the state of Illinois' unfunded pension obligations grow dangerously large. They evaluate companies, too, for creditworthiness. In a sentence: They rate securities based on the ability to pay back the money, and the agreed-upon interest, that governments and businesses borrow from investors.

The AAA rating has entered the vernacular as a synonym for the best: blue chip, No. 1, triple-A.

They turned out to be far more risky than their ratings indicated: Too many of the underlying mortgages had gone to homeowners unable to keep up with their monthly payments. Nearly every American lost money as a result, because pension funds, banks and other companies that had put their funds into these supposedly safe assets instead were left with huge losses that helped to sink the economy.

The government's effort to crack down on this sad chapter in financial history is overdue and warranted.

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